The Low Key Appearance Of Bert Vasquez:In the absence of all the hype and
public assembly in front of the police
station in San Ignacio on the two
previous occasions when Bert
Vasquez, the accused murderer of
Jasmine Lowe, appeared in San
Ignacio court, his third appearance
today went almost unnoticed.
Is it a case of the public losing
interest in the matter? Is it a case of
the case gone cold? Can it be a
case of the public forgetting the
adjournment date? Can today’s low
key appearance of the accused
murderer be attributed to the absence
of policemen who crave the media
and public spotlight resulting in neither the media nor the public being alerted
of today’s event?

Businessman Busted With
Undeclared Cash:A businessman from San Ignacio
Town today pled guilty to the offence
of failure to declare money in excess
of the stipulated ten thousand Belize
dollars
A police report informs that Suresh
Jaisinghnai was detained at the
Phillip S.W Goldson International
Airport after he was found in
possession of nine thousand two
hundred and seventy six thousand US
dollars just as he was attempting to
board an international flight.

Jorge David Moro Dies In Car Crash:Relatives of a deceased taxi driver
are today making arrangement to lay
him to rest while they are still
struggling to come to terms with the
sudden change in their lives.
The deceased Belizean taxi driver,
, from San Ignacio, Cayo, was last
seen by his wife Azucena shortly after
8:00 am on Tuesday, February 26
as he left home to transport their
children to school. He reportedly
departed from San Ignacio shortly
thereafter on a regular charter trip
eastward to Belize City to drop off a
businessman.

Amazing Voter Turnout In
San Antonio Village:The almost 62% voter turnout in
San Antonio Village for today’s United
Democratic Party convention to elect
a candidate to contest the upcoming
village council elections is nothing
short of AMAZING!!!
With 972 voters on the list for this
village, a whopping 601 voters today
made their way to the community
center to cast their ballots.
There was a steady stream of
voters from the time the polling
station was declared open at 9:00 am
right up to closing time at 4:00 pm.
The two candidates in the race were
Rene Canto the incumbent chairman
of the village and Cruz Mai, himself
a former chairman of the village.

Prohibiting Vehicular Traffic On Burn Avenue:A work crew from the Belize
Electricity Limited (BEL) was this
week busy replacing all the plastic
manhole covers with more durable
metal ones on Burns Avenue in San
Ignacio Town. The changing of
manhole covers became necessary
when several of them were broken
due to the load of vehicular traffic on
the carriageway.
While the Town Council had initially
announced that vehicular traffic would
not be allowed to transit the area, it
nonetheless began experimenting
with allowing them to do so. The
experiment has resulted in damages
to the pavers. The Town Council is
now contemplating to revert to the
original plan of prohibiting vehicular
traffic in the area.

Mexico Union Leader
Elba Esther Gordillo Arrested:Union head Elba Esther Gordillo,
known as Mexico's most powerful
woman, has been arrested on
corruption charges.
Ms Gordillo, who runs the 1.5
million-member Mexican teachers'
union, is alleged to have embezzled
more than $156m from union funds.
No-one from her legal team has
responded to the allegations, but
in the past she has denied any wrongdoing.
Her arrest came a day after the
government enacted major reforms to
the education system.

Nation Builders Commits To Championing
National Youth Policy:The Nation Builders
national youth
movement celebrates
today’s
launching of the
NationalYouth
Policy, as it will
further empower
young people.
Since the inception
of our movement,
almost a year ago,
the National Youth Policy has been
one of our key demands, as the
lack of a comprehensive youth
development strategy has been a
major setback in the creation of an
enabling environment for our young
people to become fully productive
citizens.

Belizeans Must Become More Nationalistic
To Save Their Country From Guatemala:The British landed in Belize in 1638
long before Guatemala ever dreamt
of become a nation state and still
Guatemala is claiming our country up
to this day. Why? Because in the early
part of Belize’s history, the British had
no intention of making Belize one of
their colonies until 1862. If the British
wanted to obtain Belize as their
property, they had several opportunities
when they signed treaties with
Spain to make it their territory. This
was done because the British settlers
who lived in Belize loved the country
and exerted pressure on the British
to grant them colony status. Also,
the settlers fought in the Battle of
Saint George Cay on the 10thof
September 1797 to drive the
Spanish out of Belize. This day should
have been the Independence Day for
the country of Belize because of its
significance in demonstrating our
forefathers true nationalism when
many of them died in defense of our
homeland.

St. Ignatius Students Expressing Their Views:I am a student attending St. Ignatius
High School and I am concerned
about the dramatic increase of
unemployment in our country. This has
been the highest recorded for the past
fourteen years. As we face changing
occurrences, our country can only
become better and better or worse
and worse. However, the extensive
increase in unemployment only makes
our nation worsen. Research shows
that the main reason our population
suffers from unemployment is because
of lack of education combined with
the advancement of technology.

Pay The Boys:There is an issue that I thought
should be addressed. Our Men’s
National Football Team – The Belize
Jaguars – recently qualified to play
in the Central American Gold cup. This
is the first time we as a country have
ever qualified for such a tournament
and we are proud of the men for
having achieved such a historical
accomplishment for our country.
Now, we also know that sports in
this country doesn’t pay, and I’m
proposing to the government to pay
our players a suitable sum of money
for the next six months in order for
them to train hard and not have to
concentrate on their job and practice
after work. It would only be for a
short period of time. Our players need
to train to get to their highest
potential.

STAR Humor

Your Weekly Horoscope and Lucky Numbers

Letters to the Editor

Public Notices

The San Pedro Sun

SPHS enter Sagicor’s “Visionary Challenge” with a paper recycling projectSPHS-Sagicor-Challenge-3Six senior students; Eric Donis, Ervin Chacon, Julio Chacon, Conrad Gonzalez, Brandon Munguia, Chris Saldivar and Riel Contreras, all from the San Pedro High School (SPHS) have entered a Caribbean competition called “Sagicor Visionary Challenge.” The fourth form science students, based on the rules of the challenge, are making cardstock from recycled papers. The winning school at the national level will then go on to the regional competition as the country’s representative.
Sagicor Visionary Challenge is a collaborative effort between the Caribbean Science Foundation (CSF), SAGICOR (a regional insurance company), and the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC). Aimed at secondary schools from 12 Caribbean countries, the purpose is for the participating school to find solutions to problem challenging their institutions. “We see students dumping out paper every day. An estimated 20 four-foot size garbage bags of paper are thrown away every other day. That’s a lot of paper being wasted and it’s a lot of paper that can be reused… if you look at it, it also saves trees and helps the ecosystem,” said Donis. “The project mainly entails recycling papers used at our school. We were tasked in finding a problem and then a solution to the problem. Our problem in our school is the usage of papers and our solution is to recycle it,” explained group member Riel Contreras in an interview with The San Pedro Sun.

Columbia’s La Sonora Dinamita to perform in San Pedro on March 9thSonora-Dinamita-FlyerSan Pedro Town will come alive on March 9th as well known international musical band, La Sonora Dinamita will be on the island for a live concert. The Colombian based band is one of Latin America’s popular musical groups known for their salsa, merengue, cumbia and all around tropical music. It is the first time that the band will be performing in Belize; the closest they have ever been to Belize was in Campeche a few years ago.
The concert will take place at the Angel Nuñez Auditorium in San Pedro Town. The 12 member band, along with its dancers, is being promoted in Belize by LRS Promotions of San Pedro Town. According to Luis Romero Soler from LRS promotions, the concert on Ambergris Caye is one of many done in the region since the band is going through a musical tour through Mexico. “It is one of the first bands to popularize the cumbia music with a little tropical touch. They became popular because they bring across the day to day experiences through their music,” said Romer-Soler.

Ambergris Today

San Benito, Guatemala Mayor Visits San Pedro, BelizeMayor Darrell Bradley of Belize City and Mrs. Sonia Rivera Mayor of San Benito Guatemala, along with their councilors and members of congress from Guatemala City, all arrived on San Pedro, Ambergris Caye on Saturday, March 2, 2013, where they were officially welcomed to the island by Mayor Daniel Guerrero, Councilors and Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr.
Mayor Darrell Bradley welcomed his counterparts from San Benito, Peten on Friday, March 1, 2013, in Belize City as part of agreement on the establishment of a Sister City Relationship that was signed between the municipalities of San Benito Petén and Belize City. It was a reciprocal visit after Mayor Bradley went to San Benito in January.

Belize Tourism Board Shows Increase in Arrivals for January 2013Thursday, February 28, 2013- The impressive increase of arrivals into Belize in the year 2012 has continued into the start of 2013. January numbers are in, and overnight tourists have increased by a remarkable 17.2% compared to last year’s stats. A total of 28,431 overnight tourists were recorded in the first month of this year- an increase of 4,168 compared to January 2012.
Arrivals at the Phillip Goldson International Airport were up as well, showing 7.6% higher than last year’s January arrivals. Our records show that 19,965 passengers disembarked at the PGIA in the last month, making it 1,407 more than January 2012.

International Film Crew Spotted in San Pedro BelizeMany visitors come to the beautiful country of Belize and take with them fantastic memories captured in cameras, later shared to the world. As the weekend approached, an international film crew was spotted capturing life in San Pedro Town. They were taking imagery of local street vendors at central park. This tourist hot spot is where you can find the best hand made arts and crafts, which can be customized to your liking. We are more than likely sure that we will see great exposure of our beautiful country in the international market.

Misc Belizean Sources

Belize Territorial Volunteers demarcate Belize’s border linesOn March 2nd, 2013, the Belize Territorial Volunteers (BTV) spearheaded by Wil Maheia of PG TV and the People’s National Party (PNP), met at Belize’s border with Guatemala, to carry out a cleanup campaign to clear vegetation on Belize’s side of the border. The group consisting of 150 volunteers began the work at Container Hill from sunrise to late afternoon.
The contingent had representation from various social groups including Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action (COLA); the University of Belize; the Belize Coalition for Justice; BelizeCan, a NonPartisan, nongovernmental Organization established as a “Watchdog Group” to strengthen the Democratic principles and social justice in the Nation of Belize; Belize Grassroots Youth Empowerment Association, various media representatives, along with Belizean men, women and children.

Bishop Martin Neighborhood Watch CleanupThe Bishop Martin Neighborhood Watch had a cleanup this weekend. The SISE Town Council and the Cayo Neighborhood Watch Association were there to lend a hand in cleaning up the community. Great work! Betta No Litta!

Bella Dee's Soaps at Women in Arts FiestaThe Benque House of Culture had their Women in Arts Fiesta Saturday, at the beautiful Centennial Park, in honor of Women's Month. Bella Dee's Soaps was there.
"Bella Dee's would like to thank NICH Benque House Of Culture for the opportunity to participate in the 5th Women in Arts Fiesta, which was held in Benque Viejo this past Saturday. Bella Dee's would also like to thank everyone who supported us by buying soaps or gave words of encouragement. I had the opportunity to meet some amazingly talented women, like Marilu Uck, who does some seriously, wonderful embroidery; so different from all the rest. To see her work, give her a call at 624-1953."

Women's Month in BelizeHappy Women's Month! The Women's Month Booklet for Belize has been released. In it are messages from Kim Simplis-Barrow and Minister Martinez from the Ministry of Human Development, schedules of events for Cayo and all of Belize, and biographies of female role models throughout Belize. The image was made by Greg Godfrey. International Women's Day is March 8th. Have a great Women's Month!
"The Women’s Department has shown each year that there is no
shortage of role models in this country. I hope that the bios contained in this booklet will serve as a beacon of hope for those who place a limit on where they can go because of where they come from. Let’s keep the momentum growing by motivating more women and girls to uplift themselves, rise above the odds and chart their own paths to success. I want to congratulate the awardees, not only for the accomplishments that earned them this recognition, but for having the drive and determination that made it possible. Happy
Women’s Month to all!"

In Bloom Rocks Midas Ice BarMidas had their big Saturday this past weekend at the Ice Bar, with the Bumsplash Pool Party during the day, and In Bloom playing at night. Looks like In Bloom had a great time. Encore!
In other news, Midas will be doing live concerts a few times a month. They'll have their Abraxas Rock Anthem Concert on March 16th. In Bloom will open that night.
"LIVE music at Midas Resort a night of rock ballads...
In Bloom: (Members of the band)
Kevin Berganza
Ronni Orellano
Brent Coombs
Emmanuel Mangar
Romario Pech
Jorge Tesecum
Jose Barrera"

GUATEMALAN MAYOR IN BELIZE; SISTER CITY RELATIONS ESTABLISHED
Belizeans are not exactly happy with neighboring Guatemala right about now given the upcoming October sixth referendum and this week’s fiasco with the national basketball selection in Peten. The referendum will decide whether the Guatemalan claim to Belize’s territorial land should be taken to the International Court of Justice for final settlement.

BARROW’S PROPOSED BUDGET: NO CUTS AND NO NEW TAXES
The second reading of the General Revenue Appropriation Bill for Fiscal Year 2013/2014 took place this morning during a meeting of the House of Representatives. The presentation of the budget proposals for the upcoming financial year was made by Prime Minister Dean Barrow. He emphasized that the impending fiscal calendar will not see any new taxes being introduced, nor will there be any budget reductions. P.M. Barrow also lauded the accomplishments of his administration in restructuring the super bond, as well as other economic developments in 2012, notwithstanding a sudden decline in electricity production, crude oil mining and cruise tourism arrivals.

February 24, 2013 - March 2, 2013 Fishing ReportReturn guests - Bill and Carol, Ron and Susan, Gary and Joyce, Graham and Annie, welcome back! We had a really nice week where guests met new friends and bonded with established friends. The fishing was toss up because the weather was so crazy this week. It is very unusual for a cold front to come in this time of year dropping to 60 at night! That may not sound cold, but it is for here. All the fish are around – so each day anglers went out with a great attitude to try skill and luck with the sea. Dreams came true, and new goals reached. Thanks everyone for a great week.

Corozal Rotary Thanks Town CouncilThe Corozal Chapter of Rotary International would like to thank the Corozal Town Council who contributed in the Santa Rita Playground project.
They supplied, tents, tables, chairs, security guard, lunches for 40 people for 2 days, 3-5 workers, tools, cement mixer, water truck, repaired lights, hooked up electricity and all round were wonderful to work with. The Rotary Club of Corozal thanks Councillor Elva Perez, Mayor Hilberto Campos, Mr. Efrain Gomez and all the Town Council workers for their support and hard work.
The neighbors contributed snacks, hard work, bathrooms. The school gave us drinks, sang the national anthem and played on the new playground.
The Rotary Club of Corozal is currently seeking new Rotary members. Members make a financial commitment of support and also donate time to assist with Rotary projects. They also need Friends of Rotary - folks who want to help, but can't become a member for whatever reason. And, last, but not least, they need donations of funds to help sustain and expand its service to the Corozal Community.

Black Gold or Not?by Jamie Ashcroft "I believe it is just a matter of time before we crack the code on locating traps," Kelleher said. New World chief Kelleher still confident of Belize oil discovery.
New World Oil & Gas (LON:NEW) chief executive Bill Kelleher remains confident that the company will discover oil within its Belize acreage.
The shares plummeted last week as the Blue Creek 2 well was determined to be non-commercial.
The well did, however, confirm that an active hydrocarbon system exists within the acreage, and live oil shows were measured in both the Y3 and Hillbank reservoir targets.
This was not enough to prevent a sharp drop for the New World shares, which at one stage had halved in value, but Kelleher remains undeterred.
"I'm not hanging my head, in fact I'm encouraged," he said in a call with Proactive Investors.
"I'm incredibly positive . We now know that oil has moved through this area, and we know it has accumulated in massive amounts – I'm talking about hundreds of millions of barrels.
"And I believe it is just a matter of time before we crack the code on locating traps, and identifying the differences between the sealed and the breached traps.
"We've learned a lot, and the key thing to take away from this result is that we will make a discovery and we will be producing oil – so sit tight."

Channel 5

Minister Farrakhan’s message to BelizeansLeader of the Nation of Islam, Minister Louis Farrakhan, arrived this afternoon at the Phillip Goldson International Airport on American Airlines. It is his third visit to Belize; the last was twenty-seven years ago. Farrakhan was scheduled to visit Belize in early December but the trip was cancelled at the last minute because of illness. [...]

Who murdered Corrupt?There were no murders on Friday and Saturday, but on Sunday, two men were shot and killed within hours of each other. Gunshots rang out at about ten o’clock on Sunday night in the heart of the Southside Gangsters territory in the City. A lone gunman walked up to Eugene Palacio aka Corrupt and unleashed [...]

Sherlock shot, Arana murdered in HattievilleLess than two hours before that murder, there was another homicide. An argument between two men escalated in an exchange of gunfire in Hattieville. Two bullets found their mark on Abel Arana who succumbed within hours of the shooting, while Sherlock Ralph Martinez remains hospitalized in critical condition after being shot to the abdomen. News [...]

Killed after he collected his salary from bankAside from the murders in Belize City and Hattieville, another man lost his life after he was attacked and beaten. The incident happened last Wednesday, but he died on Friday. On Wednesday, Dangriga police visited a wooden yellow house on Tubroose Street where they found thirty-five year old Julio Cesar Lopez Funez, a Honduran maintenance [...]

Basketball player survives shooting on BelChinaThere was another shooting incident in Belize City this morning. The victim has been identified as Ronald Rivers. Rivers went along with the delegation of Belizean basketball players in Peten, Guatemala last Thursday and returned on Friday. According to the Belize Basketball Federation, his place on the team was not permanent, but he did play [...]

Belize territorial Volunteers chop along borderThere were dire forecasts from the Minister of Foreign Affairs and from the security forces, as Belizeans prepared to make the symbolic journey to the border with Guatemala. Officials warned that the move would be seen as aggressive and could invite a violent response from Guatemala’s residents and from the army. Guatemala’s president Otto Perez [...]

Guatemala’s Foreign Minister in Belize The Foreign Minister of Guatemala was in Belize today in an unannounced visit. Fernando Carrera arrived by private aircraft at the Philip Goldson International Airport this afternoon around one o’clock, met with Foreign Affairs Minister Wilfred Elrington before departing at four p.m. Carrera’s call on the foreign minister had to do with the upcoming [...]

Petén basketball players bounce into national discussionThe Belize National Basketball Selection withdrew from playing in a Guatemalan tournament called “New Era of the Mundo Maya”, which was held in Peten and organized by the renegade National Sports Federation of Guatemalan Basketball. The team cut short its participation because local organizers found it distasteful that the Federation had included Belize as part [...]

Gang Suppression Unit Officer dies in accidentA fatal traffic accident on the George Price Highway on Sunday night claimed the life of a police officer attached to the Gang Suppression Unit. Twenty-two year old Bani Shol perished after his white Toyota Camry overturned between miles thirty-three and thirty-four sometime before ten p.m. Shol was traveling along with two other GSU officers: [...]

Arson cause of fire that burnt down buildingPolice are treating an early morning fire in downtown Belize City as a case of arson. The fire started from the lower flat of a building which was unoccupied and without electricity so authorities believe the building was deliberately set ablaze. Two other buildings were damaged, but luckily no one was hurt. News Five’s Jose [...]

Tourists abandoned and stranded in paradiseBelize is paradise to many no matter if the tourism industry’s selling point is no longer “Mother Nature’s Best Kept Secret.” But for a couple from the United Kingdom, the country for a brief moment became a small road to perdition. Last Wednesday, the Neilson family went diving near Halfmoon Caye, and while basking in [...]

Boom resident runs from weed charge A caretaker from Burrell Boom was today formally arraigned in Magistrate’s Court on four charges. Police claim that on Friday, Eugene Henderson was caught with a bag full of cannabis on the Burrell Boom Road and when approached by Police Constable Ronald Sutherland, he tried to run away. During his capture he allegedly got [...]

Youth Business thrives with creativityInternational Children’s Day of Broadcasting is celebrated worldwide on the first Sunday of March each year. In keeping with our tradition to encourage children participation in the media, here at News Five we invited Mariana Moguel to show her budding skills as a teen journalist. Working along with Isani Cayetano, Mariana put together a report [...]

Sports Monday with James “Jah over all” Adderley Good evening, I’m James Adderley and this is Sports Monday. Week 4 of the PLB Season saw the People’s Stadium in O.W. host the monster clash between San Felipe Barcelona and Placencia Assassins as both teams sought to make advances in the standings. We’re just five minutes in when visitors get this look [...]

CTV3

Belize Territorial Volunteers: Success At The BorderOver the weekend 150 Belizeans including President of Belize Territorial Volunteers, Will Maheia travelled to the Belize/Guatemala Border near Jalacte Village to take part in the “Clear Our Borderline” campaign. With machetes in hand these volunteers travelled to the edge of the border, meeting with people living on Belizean soil. It was in that area that the group decided to plant the Belizean Flag signaling out that they were standing on Belizean territory. Despite the fact that the group only managed to clear part of the border line, President of Belize Territorial Volunteers Wil Maheia says, a strong message was sent to those watching on the other side of the border.
Wil Maheia, Belize Territorial Volunteers.
“It was just like a great thing and a great day to be a Belizean. You know our intention is to clear our borderline which is already defined in the 1859 treaty and was recognized by the rest of the world when we got our independence. The deal that this government just continues to neglect the activities is putting our country at risk. We as citizens of this country we should be able to go ahead and take care of our border.”
Hipolito Novelo, Reporter
“Was your objective met?”
Wil Maheia, Belize Territorial Volunteers.
“Yes, I think, loud and clear we wanted the world to know that we have a border and we went there with GPS and the guy from the OAS and the Guatemalan Mayor, they all agreed that the road that they were standing one and the road that Guatemala claim that is part of their territory is actually in Belize Territory. Because of the scare tactics, we didn’t go there, we want to clear but the area that we wanted to clear was already cleared by the Guatemalan. We will educate the people around here about what is happening in our country; the deforestation of our forest, the incursions of forest and protected areas. Definitely as a human being you have that fear but within a few minutes that fear was gone. Never one did I feel that my life of any of the Belizeans life was in danger.”

Hong Kong Gets RobbedOver the weekend a police officer received minor injuries after he attempted to stop a robbery in progress here in Orange Walk. On Saturday, at about 12:30am, two men of dark complexion entered Honk Kong Restaurant located on Belize Corozal Road, walked straight to the counter, and robbed 42 year old Anna Reyes at gunpoint. Fearing for her life Reyes handed over $1,000 to one of the robbers.
But little did the criminals know that a police officer was in the restaurant. According to reports, the officer confronted both men and during the process was hit on the face with the gun which he attempted to take away from the armed robber. Despite a shot being fired, the struggle between the police officer and the armed robber continued. But as the gun fell to the ground, the robbers made good their escape but not before one of them crashed into the entrance door made of glass. During their quick exit the criminals left behind a 9mm Taurus pistol, (1) 9mm expended shell and a green and brown jacket which was retrieved by police. So far no one has been detained and police investigations continue.

She Was Raped, Now She's PregnantLast week a 13 year old girl from Caye Caulker accused her brother-in-law of rape. Tonight there is another disturbing case of rape to report on, this time coming out of a Village in the Corozal District which has resulted in pregnancy. A 15 year old minor, accompanied by her father, visited the Corozal Police Station and reported that at about 6:00pm on Christmas Day last year, she was walking along the Philip Goldson Highway heading to a store located in the Village when she was accosted by a man she knew. The individual, who was on bicycle, informed the minor that he wanted to have sexual intercourse with her and when she refused he grabbed her from the arm, dragged her into some nearby bushes, raped her and then left the area. Afraid of her family’s reaction, the child did not report the matter to them until recently when she found out she was pregnant. Police are now seeking a man who lives in the same village for questioning. Of note is that in order to protect the child’s identity we will not reveal the name of the Village or the individual police are seeking.

Busted And Charged For Unlawful Possession Of PassportsAnd while police look for their suspect in this latest reported case of rape, one man is tonight behind bars after he was found in possession of several passports. The discovery of five passports for the Republic of India was made on March 3rd after police conducted a search at the residence of 38 year old Abbas Khan, a naturalized Belizean businessman of number#18 3rd Street Corozal Town. The passports belong to Tajinder Singh, Gagandeep Singh, Parminder Singh Baryar, Gurdeep Singh and Surjit Singh. When interrogated by police Khan stated that none of the individuals are in Belize. He; however, could not give a proper account as to why the passports were in his possession.
As a result Khan was charged for unlawful possession of passport and he remains detained at the Corozal Police Station for commitment warrant.

Orange Walkenos Head To The BorderOut of the 150 Belizeans that travelled to the South-West Border between Belize and Guatemala, about 12 of them were from Orange Walk Town. Orlanda De La Fuente was among the group and today he told us how symbolic the trip was for him and those traveling along with him.
Orlando De La Fuente, Belize Territorial Volunteers
“The problem is that because of the press releases that the Government put out and the statements by the Minister of Foreign Affairs that the group was not as big as we expected but we had a good representation of the Orange Walk District; my two brothers and myself, “Bull” from Palmer, an ex-police man from Yo Creek, a retired captain from the BDF and about six other civilians joined us.”
Hipolito Novelo, Reporter
“Was it what you expected?”
Orlando De La Fuente, Belize Territorial Volunteers
“It was what- in a way it was but i was also relief to know that the border isn’t as lawless as we think. The Guatemalans respect it because we left PG at 6am and we drove about a little over an hour to Jalacte. From Jalacter, we hike for about ¾ of a mile and went to the Container Hill where the Guatemalans had once erected a container. So the group stayed there and a few of us wanted to proceed further and Mr. Maheia was very cautious. He had a big responsibility for the group and so he would not take the group further but I thought to really achieve our objective we need to go to the borderline and open up the flag and make our presence known there.”

New World Oil And Gas Keeps On DiggingThe last time we reported on the oil drilling taking place in Blue Creek is when New World Oil and Gas reported that the Blue Creek #2 well was determined to be non-commercial. The company estimated the B Crest to hold a P50 un-risked prospective resource of 92.1 million barrels of oil and a P50 un-risked net present value of US$2.4 billion on a 100% working interest basis. Shares, however plummeted after the well turned out to be non-commercial. But New World Oil and Gas is not giving up and today announced that the Rio Bravo-1 well targeting the West Gallon Jug Crest Prospect commenced drilling on 1 March 2013. The company estimates the West Gallon Jug Crest to hold a P50 un-risked prospective resource of 113 million barrels of oil and a P50 un-risked Net Present Value of US$2.6 billion on a 100% working interest basis.
The ThermaSource International rig #104 will drill to a total depth of 8,800ft, targeting the Upper Jurassic Margaret Creek Formation. Drilling results will be released once total depth has been reached, which is expected to be by 1 May 2013.
New World Chief Executive William Kelleher is quoted as saying “Our first two wells in Northwest Belize confirmed the presence of several main elements which make up a working hydrocarbon system: source, migration and seal. An essential element, trap, was likely breeched at B Crest as a result of a leaking fault, possibly caused by late tectonic activity. Unlike B Crest however, West Gallon Jug is a structural high, and is not fault dependent in order for a trap to exist and contain oil. Hydrocarbons can migrate up and be trapped, and crucially not leak off through leaking fault planes, which is likely what happened at B Crest. As a result, we are tremendously excited by the commencement of drilling at our West Gallon Jug Prospect.” End of quote.

Nature Park Gets Play Ground SetA few weeks ago the Orange Walk Town Council began clearing a portion of the Louisiana Nature Park for the installment of a new playground set donated by the Rotary Clubs of Canada. Over the weekend the project jumped into its final phase as the playground was installed by volunteers of the Rotary Club of Canada and Orange Walk and the Orange Walk Town Council.
Hipolito Novelo, reporting
This is one of the three large playground sets that were shipped to Belize under the Playground Build Project headed by the Rotary Club in Alberta Canada. The gift comes as a grant from the Province of Alberta through their Community Initiative Program. According to Rotarian and Chair of the International Committee, Libby Wear, all three playgrounds come at a cost of approximately U.S $26,000.
Kathy Jenkins, Casper Rotary Club
“This equipment use to be set up in a play ground in Canada and there is a company called the Emmanuel Foundation. They dismantled these play grounds because they are going to be replace by news one in Canada. They put them in shipping containers. So we shipped three play grounds down here in the container and in that container there were also some bikes, some clothes and some computer. So one play ground came here- one in Orange Walk Town, Corozal and Western Paradise in Belize City. So we had a lot of help. We put up the structures and today it is sanding, painting and the kids are helping. It’s hard to keep them off.”

March: Women's MonthEvery day hundreds of thousands of women from across the globe experience some type of abuse. In order to bring awareness of that statistic, Women’s Month is celebrated every year in March with International Women’s Day on March 8th. This year, the month is being celebrated under the theme “Gender Agenda Gaining Momentum.” According to Makesha Swazo, head of the Orange Walk Women’s Department, this year’s theme focuses on gender issues as it relates to men and women working together.
Makesha Swazo- Head Orange Walk Women’s Department
“On March 8th is International Women’s day and what we will be having is a Leadership and Team Building Workshop for women’s group leaders and other community leaders in Orange Walk. On the 16th of March, the usual time of 5:30 we will be assembling at the Establo round-a-bout for our annual bike rally. In reality each district has activities but there are certain activities that are nationalized in terms of the National Women’s Summit and the awards ceremony to high light the woman of the year in each district.”

PlusTV

Abel Arana gunned down in Hattieville
Abel Arana gunned down in Hattieville. There was a murder on Sunday night in Hattieville Village, the possible product of a family dispute. Police say 23-year-old Abel Arana was shot in the abdomen and buttocks while Sherlock Ralph Martinez, other particulars unknown, was shot in the lower abdomen when...

Eugene Palacio killed in Belize City
Eugene Palacio killed in Belize City. 36 year old Eugene Palacio was shot and killed in Belize City on Saturday night during a birthday celebration for his mother. It was cruel and ruthless, the gunman determined to get Palacio in his sights and succeeding. We spoke with a relative...

Murder suspected in death of Julio Cesar Lopez Funez
What was supposed to be a quick errand to the bank, turns deadly for a Dangriga resident. Harry Arzu has this story. HARRY ARZU – Dangriga Corresopondent: Police here in Dangriga are investigating the circumstances surrouding the death of an Hispanic male person, that occurred on Friday, March 1st,...

Ervin Augustine lost his life in traffic accident
One man is dead following an accident that happened on the Stann Creek Valley road. Our Dangriga correspondent Harry Arzu has this report. HARRY ARZU – Dangriga Correspondent: A Resident of Alta Vista Village in the Stann Creek District lost his life as a result of a traffic accident...

Barny Shol dies following traffic accident
There was another fatal traffic accident over the weekend. Last night at about 9:50pm, Belmopan Police responded to a traffic accident which occurred between miles 33 and 34 on the George Price Highway. Upon arrival at the scene Police saw a white four door Toyota Camry approximately 30 feet...

Ronald Rivers shot in Belize City
Ronald Rivers shot. Police have released no details but PLUS News can confirm that there was a shooting in Belize City this morning around eleven. The victim’s name has been confirmed as Ronald Rivers and we understand he was attacked on Vernon Street in front of the UNO Gas...

Belize Territorial Volunteers made their point at the border
The Belize Territorial Volunteers made their point at the border this weekend. After being told that they would not have Government and military support and under threat from Guatemala for what President Otto Perez Molina has referred to as “erasing” the border, there were questions of whether the group...

Sister-city relationship between San Benito and Belize City
In an historic first on Friday afternoon, a sister-city relationship between municipalities of Belize and Guatemala was agreed, at a time when the neighbouring countries are in bitter dispute over their territorial boundaries. Earlier this year, Mayor of Belize City Darrell Bradley and a team visited San Benito, Petén,...

Belize National Basketball Selection pull out of tournament in Guatemala
Just when you thought you’ve seen it all in the latest Belize Guatemala border dispute, the matter stirs controversy in the sports world. Last week, the Belize National Basketball Selection pulled out of a tournament in Guatemala in disapproval of the Guatemalan Sports Federation’s logo. The logo includes a...

Fire destroys house near downtown Belize City
Fire destroys house near downtown Belize City. Residents of the Bishop and West Street area awoke to news of a fire before dawn on Sunday morning. According to police, they visited 49 Corner West and Bishop Street, Belize City, where they saw a green two storey wooden apartment building,...

Miguel Guerrero reportedly shot himself
Reports coming out of the Cayes is that a well known San Pedrano committed suicide. Details are still sketchy at this time, but it is reported that Miguel Guerrero, who was known around the island as Mike, reportedly shot himself to the head sometime after 9pm last night. Plus...

Taxi and passengers in accident with pick-up
A taxi carrying passengers was involved in an accident on Saturday night. Sometime around 7:40pm, the taxi – a white Geo Prism was travelling on the Hummingbird Highway and in front of it was a Chevy Silverado Pickup, going in the same direction. The pickup truck made a right...

Cyclists agree on way forward
Cyclists agree on way forward. Cycling has been in a state of flux in recent times with members of the community in open revolt against President Emil Moreno over his attempts to change the voting process for election of a cycling executive. But Moreno got a heavy boost from...

Businessman under investigation for unlawful possession of passports
A Belizean businessman is under investigation for unlawful possession of five passports. This came after police found five passports for the Republic of India in the 38 year old’s Corozal home. He informed police that the owners of the passports are in Belize, but failed to give a proper...

Four men armed with machetes stalked a village
Four men armed with machetes stalked a village in the Cayo District last night, and put two residents in the hospital. The first incident happened shortly after 7:30pm; 36 year old Santos Vasquez was walking on a back street in the village, when four men reportedly attacked. He was...

15 year old girl reportedly pregnant after being raped
A 15 year old girl is reportedly pregnant after being raped. According to police, the minor, who lives in a village situated in the Corozal District, reported that on Christmas night of last year, she was on her way to a store some 400ft away from her home. The...

Caye Caulker Chronicles

The Reporter

The vicious cycle of inequality
“Without the cooperation of the population, there will be insufficient resources and effort to break free from the vicious cycle of inequality” (Regional Human Development Report for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2010).

University of Belize student murdered by farmer, 16
A 16-year-old boy has been charged and remanded to prison last Friday, after he allegedly confessed to killing 24-year-old University of Belize student Corina Coh last Thursday evening in Laguna Village, Toledo.

You’re on your own
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon. Wilfred Elrington said publicly that the government will not support activist Will Maheia and the Belize Territorial Volunteers’ border-clearing exercise planned for Saturday, March 2.

Petillo to grassroots people: “You dropped the ball”
The Belize Grassroots Youth Empowerment Association protested Tuesday against what it describes as government’s flawed land-distribution system, but with less than a 15 percent turnout of BGYEA’s members, the association’s president, Nigel Petillo said Belizeans missed yet another opportunity to unite for a greater cause.

Belize signs MOU with US on archeology
To combat the looting of Belize’s archeological sites, the Government of Belize has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States government to place restrictions on the illegal importation and exportation of archeological material.

North Front St. vendors protest relocation
With unemployment as high as 16.1 percent and tourism accounting for one of every four new job, Belize City street vendors are angered at having their piece of the tourism pie shrunk. Recent street works on North Front Street have forced them to abandon their prime business location over the weekend.

Snake bite kills 11-year-old student
Monique Moore an 11 year standard five student at St. Edmond Campeon Roman Catholic School in Teakettle Village, Cayo, died 24 hours after a poisonous snake, suspected to be a coral snake, bit her on Sunday night.

Legend or Legit? The real deal on classic beauty
As much as we love trying all of the new products and potions that come our way, sometimes we like to go classic with homemade beauty treatments, whether as a natural fix for our finicky skin or as a break for our wallet. Fancy treatments for hair, skin and nails are undoubtedly luxurious, but as our mamas taught us, sometimes the best beauty fixes can be found in your medicine cabinet – or even in your kitchen.

Biscayne girls & Holy Redeemer boys win Belize district softball championships
The girls of Biscayne Government School and the boys of Holy Redeemer RC School will represent the Belize District at the National Primary Schools Softball Championships organized by the National Sports Council to be held at Rogers’ Stadium in Belize City on Friday, March 8 after clinching the district championships last Monday afternoon, February 25.

Head of Mexico’s powerful teachers’ union jailed
Authorities have arrested the leader of Mexico’s largest union, accusing her of embezzling millions of dollars and using some of the money to pay for plastic surgery, shop at luxury stores and buy real estate.

How to grow BougainvilleaGardening in the tropics is not always easy, the soil is often too sandy and there are sometimes bug issues and diseases like lethal yellow for palms. The owners of the duplex where we live were down recently and happened to mention that they would love add bougainvillea to our garden. We do actually have one but it is very puny and does not produce the amount of flowers it should. I told them I would talk to my plant connection – if there is anyone that knows about bougainvillea care it is Marsha Waight. She has been helping businesses and private clients grow beautiful gardens for the past 20 years on Ambergris Caye.
I wrote Marsha to ask about bougainvillea flowers and how come the ones in our garden they either did not make it or are not growing well. We got email chatting back and forth and in addition to her answer below, she is going to provide occasional ongoing gardening advice on tacogirl.com. So if you have any tropical gardening questions for Marsha email them to me at tacogirlbelize{at}gmail.com
Growing Bougainvillea
The soil mixture has to be right, some Peat Moss added for acid to the black dirt and sometimes the soil purchased is from the island and not the mainland and is extremely alkaline. No fertilizer for the first 3 weeks or until new growth is seen. They need to be in a sunny area for maximum growth and not too much water as to not get root rot. They also don’t like salt air too much. If the area is dredged sand [not uncommon here] it will need really big hole to be filled with a soil mixture.

Chaa Creek Resort: Belize’s PlaygroundAfter two days of hiking, climbing and swimming, I was ready for a bit of a change of pace, so we headed to the eco jungle resort, Chaa Creek. At this 365 acre resort, you’ll have everything at your fingertips to customize your own jungle adventure. I had met someone from Chaa Creek a few years ago at a travel trade show and had been staring at their promotional disc for years, waiting for the day I’d get to Belize so I could stay there.
After checking in to our private thatched cottage, we met with the concierge to organize the activities for the following day. Many are included in your stay, but a few such as horseback riding and canoeing carry a small surcharge. With so many to choose from, he was very helpful in putting together an itinerary that would maximize our time. We started our day with the 6:30 bird watching tour followed by breakfast, then the Medicinal Mayan trail, in which our guide pointed out all sorts of trees and plants and explained what remedies they have been used to cure.
Lunch was next, followed by a three hour horseback ride to the property’s organic farm, and then a guided sunset canoe trip and the creatures of the night tour, which we didn’t end up getting to since we didn’t want to miss dinner. The next day, we went to the butterfly farm and natural history center and I enjoyed some fabulous spa treatments, which after my week and a half of diving, hiking, climbing Mayan ruins, and swimming through caves, was well deserved and needed!

Belize Voted Top Relaxing Country in the World by Lonely PlanetLonely Planet fans have voted Belize a top relaxing country in the world. According to Mark Broadhead, more than 3000 people on Facebook, Twitter, Google + and Thorn Tree participated in the survey to find out the best destinations for relaxation, entertainment, shopping, transportation, off the beaten path, accommodation and beyond expectations.
“No surprises here. All of the top 10 destinations for relaxing are known for their amazing beaches. Most are also well-known for their unhurried ‘island time’ sensibility” states the article entitled “Lonely Planet Traveller’s Choice: the top destinations of 2013”.
Caribbean countries that made it in the list including Belize were the Bahamas, Barbados and the Dominican Republic.

Taking Liberties
Spent the early part of the morning assembling the stuff -clothes,toiletries, chargers,notepad, etc for the trip to Dallas that we are making. Not taking a lot with me so didn’t take too long to pull it together.
With the packing virtually finished – just a few items to put in to the case before we leave – we (if I haven’t mentioned it before, Rose is an Arsenal fan too) settled down to watch the Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) game versus Arsenal. Regret to say that Arsenal weren’t really in it and lost two goals to one. It’s going to a mammoth challenge for us now to achieve forth place and qualify for next season’s Champions League.
In a somewhat dejected mood we needed a pick-me-up so decided to go have a look at the finished concrete pour for the Second Floor of our build in Ambergris Caye, Belize and got there around 3 pm.
With nobody else on the site it was very quick and easy to access the scaffolding and climb up to the top floor where the concrete was curing nicely.

Bird Trifecta at Lower Dover Jungle LodgeYesterday we were doing a little afternoon bird watching near the cabanas at Lower Dover Belize Jungle Lodge. The birding was excellent near the Horseballs Tree that was bearing ripe fruits. Horseballs is also known as Grandpa’s balls by some locally. Imaginations are creative here in Central America.
At first we spotted this Red Crowned or perhaps Red Throated Ant-Tanager. Birds of Belize claims the Red-Crowned Ant Tanager is rare or absent in the lowlands, but based on the photos we believe this is what we saw. Horseballs: The Maya used this medicinal tree for removing the larvae of botfly. When the outside of the fruit is punctured a very strong latex substance is secreted. This latex is used to suffocate the botfly and allow for easy removal.

International Sources

Drilling Commenced at New World's Belize WellNew World Oil and Gas Plc, an oil and gas exploration and development company focused on Belize and Denmark, announced that the Rio Bravo #1 well targeting the West Gallon Jug Crest prospect commenced drilling March 1 at its Blue Creek Project in Northwest Belize. The Company's Competent Person, RPS Energy, estimates West Gallon Jug Crest to hold a P50 un-risked prospective resource of 113 million barrels of oil (MMbo) (Y1 and Y2 intervals) and a P50 un-risked Net Present Value (NPV10) of $2.6 billion on a 100 percent working interest basis.
The ThermaSource International LLC (ThermaSource), rig #104 will drill to a total depth (TD) of 8,800 feet, targeting the Upper Jurassic Margaret Creek Formation. Drilling results will be released once TD has been reached, which is expected to be by May 1, 2013.
Analysis of the technical data recorded at the Blue Creek #2 and #2A ST wells that were recently drilled at the B Crest prospect has confirmed an active hydrocarbon system exists on New World's Blue Creek and West Gallon Jug acreage. The West Gallon Jug Crest prospect is located approximately 22 miles (35 kilometers) SSW from the B Crest Prospect and is a four way structural closure that is not fault dependent, as was the case at B Crest.

Beaumont adoption; Belize baby found in bucketA Beaumont couple found a 10 week old baby in a bucket, abandoned, suffering from club foot in a village in Belize. The couple brought the baby back to Texas.
Now the couple's friends are giving little Sarah a forever family.
It's a day that couldn't come soon enough for Xuan and Aaron Smith.
They've waited for the opportunity to appear before a Jefferson county judge for 6 years.
"One day Xuan walked in and said hey there's this girl that needs a family at the clinic and I was like let's go for it," said Aaron Smith.
Aaron's wife, Xuan volunteered at a pediatric clinic in Beaumont where she met Sarah, a one year old girl from Belize who was receiving treatment for club foot.
Sarah's mother had abandoned her in Belize. Another Beaumont family brought her here to get help.
"We thought she would be a perfect fit for our family," said Xuan.

Memorial held for Calgarian who died in BelizeFamily of a Calgary father who reportedly died of head injuries while in Belize police custody say they’ve hired a lawyer and are pushing ahead with legal action against the authorities.
It’s been more than a month since police reported finding Jeffrey Furgala unconscious inside a jail cell amid a vacation in the Central American tourist hub.
On Sunday, friends and family gathered shoulder-to-shoulder inside a Shinto shrine to remember the 35-year-old martial artist.
Speaking after the memorial, Furgala’s mother expressed concerns over the investigation, noting there are “discrepancies” in the police report obtained by the family.
In Fern Tiberio’s account of events, her son went into town one night in January to pick up his phone from a bar.
He was attacked shortly after and subsequently suffered “stroke-like symptoms,” Tiberio said, which made him unable to tell police where he was staying.
According to police, Furgala was detained overnight in the San Ignacio Police Station for being intoxicated in public.
“He was so misunderstood,” Tiberio said. “He needed immediate medical attention.”

Best spring break travel destination values1) Belize
Learn more about Belize
Belize is rich in history and beauty, with Mayan temples, lush rainforests, uncrowded beaches and ample adventure activities perfect for spring breakers like zip lining and jungle river canoeing.
Why go: You can stay at a colorful resort where the rooms start at $61/night.
See the slideshow of beautiful Belize

From Belize to the bayou, Barcott recountsThe wave tops rolled with a heavy layer of black oil below the boat Bruce Barcott stood upon, and lapped onto the shore of a miniscule island just off the coast of Louisiana. The early morning light reflected from the sticky substance covering the feathers of hundreds of pelicans who lined the water’s edge like birds on a wire. Barcott watched as the helpless creatures pecked at their bodies, at their outstretched wings, attempting to rid themselves of the oil, an impossible task.
“To see it first hand, and to see how inadequate all the efforts that BP and the government made were, everything they were throwing at the oil spill, you just could not stop that thing. It was too incredible,” Barcott said.
While Barcott is arguably most recognized as the author of “The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw,” this year’s Campus Read, his work as an environmental journalist has taken him far beyond the Belizean jungle featured in his popular nonfiction novel. According to Barcott, the most impactful of his assignments came while on location with National Geographic during the 2010 BP oil spill.
“Coming away from that and thinking about the ways in which my own region here in the Northwest is put at risk by oil tankers coming to refineries, thinking about offshore oil drilling in the arctic, even boiling it down to my own life. I had an old gas guzzler van and we gave it away and bought a Prius, as cliché as that sounds, it really was like, ‘I just cant justify this anymore. It’s not working,’” Barcott said.

March 2013 Desktop Calendar Wallpaper: Half Moon Caye, Belize I took this photo at Half Moon Caye, a natural monument located at the southern end of the Lighthouse Reef atoll in Belize. You couldn’t ask for a better desert island than this: Half Moon has palm trees kissing an azure sky, iguanas lolling on logs and hermit crabs scuttling on the empty beaches. It’s also a well-known haven for birders, as its home to one of the world’s few colonies of red footed boobies.
I came to the island during my cruise on the Yorktown, a small ship owned by the company Travel Dynamics International. The ship caters almost exclusively to groups booked through educational tour companies, such as Smithsonian Expedition Journeys, the American Museum of Natural History or college alumni networks. I was there through Adventure Life, a custom tour provider based in Missoula, Montana.
TDI has carved out a niche with themed itineraries that are heavy on enrichment, guided tours and daily lectures. My cruise covered Mayan ruins, rainforest and reefs, with stops along the southern Belize coast and Guatemala. Our cruise director, John Frick, had a masters degree in Science Education, and three naturalists, as well as a visiting scientist from the AMNH and an archaeologist from Wake Forest, were also on board. There was definitely a lot of brain power on board!

Wildlife in the Cayo DistrictThere are good reasons for my not updating the blog for almost a month now, mostly due to being off on a marvelous birding and nature trip to Belize for a couple of weeks, a one-day turn around to fly to my Mom’s house for a family celebration of a major birthday for her, and then about a week of wading through the more than 1500 pictures that made it home from Belize to cut them down to a more manageable size. I’ll be showing some of my favorite ones from the trip in this rather lengthy posting, but there’s lots more at the Belize Travel page on my website.
One of the first birds we saw (and there were plenty of them wandering around) at Bird’s Eye View Lodge in the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary was the Northern Jacana. This is one of the first pictures I’ve ever gotten of one of them flying, and if you look closely you can see the little spur on the wing similar to a Southern Lapwing.

LOVE FM

Nation of Islam Leader Arrives In Belize
The wait for the arrival of the Leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, ended today when the American Airlines plane landed at the Phillip Goldson International Airport with the motivational and inspirational speaker. Farrakhan was met by protocol officer, Guadeloupe Will...

Belizean Basketball Player Shot To The Face
Twenty eight year old Ronald Rivers is lucky to be alive after having been shot to the face this morning on Vernon Street. The basketball player, we understand would have been in Guatemala, and because of the ongoing controversy returned home with the rest of the team. This...

Wood Carving and Basket Weaving Training Ends
Ceremony to mark the completion of a basket weaving and wood carving training program was held on Friday evening in Punta Gorda. The training program was held at the Punta Gorda We Art Gallery located on Far West Street in town. Coordinator of the event was Curlette Palacio w...

East Indian Culture Celebrated
The East Indian Culture was celebrated throughout this weekend in the Corozal District. The Corozal Organization of East Indian Cultural Heritage, whose primary objective is to promote the East Indian Culture, organized a pageant and an East Indian Food Festival. Sylvia Gil...

Burrell Boom Police Station Gets Uplift
The Burrell Boom police station is getting a makeover. Work on the restoration started over the weekend and will continue throughout the week. Officer Commanding, Assistant Superintendent Christopher Noble told Love News that the upgrading of the infrastructure at the Burre...

Separate Traffic Accidents Claim Two Lives
A traffic accident on the George Price Highway on Sunday night left one police officer dead and two others injured. Correspondent Fem Cruz reports. FEM CRUZ “On Sunday, March 3 sometime around 9:50pm, Belmopan Police received information of a road traffic accident b...

Chopping Incident Leaves Man Critical
A chopping incident in Belmopan on Sunday morning has left a Belize City man hospitalized in a critical condition and a teenager in police detention. Reports are that sometime after ten o’clock on Sunday morning Kareem Foreman Swaso, a resident of Belize City was involved i...

Armed Robbery In Orange Walk
Police are investigating another armed robbery in Orange Walk. According to reports, on March second at around 12:30 a.m two male persons, one armed, entered Hong Kong Restaurant located on Belize Corozal Road. The men wore masks over their faces; one of the men was of dark complexion ...

Channel 7

Border Clearing At Jalacte Went Without IncidentWe start with a piece of news that caught us completely off-guard: that is a surprise visit by the new Guatemalan Foreign Minister, Fernando Carrera to Belize. He flew in at about 1:00 pm for a lunch meeting with Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington.
That meting was held at the VIP Room of the Radisson and lasted for about three hours. Elrington was accompanied by his CEO Alexis Rosado, Opposition Representative Lisa Shoman and James Murphy from the Referendum Office.
7news got an exclusive interview with Foreign Minister Carrerra and we'll have that for you shortly, but to set things in the right order, we start at Jalacte on Saturday morning. That's where Wil Maheia and his Belize Territorial Volunteers went to clear the southern border.
It was not a state-sanctioned effort, and so due to the many warnings from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the BDF Commander, it was expected that the first day of that effort would be tense. But it turns out that it wasn't tense at all.
Daniel Ortiz went down to witness the beginning of the clearing first hand, and here's what he found:
Daniel Ortiz Reporting
The Belize Territorial Volunteers arrived in Jalacte Village at around 8:30. They all came together in a caravan consisting of a rented bus, and about 10 vehicles, all to a total of approximately 125 people representing different activist organizations.

Alcalde From Santa Cruz, Guatemala, No Problem with WilAnd coming up shortly, you'll hear how the Guatemalan foreign Minister feels about Wil Maheia's initiative, but, first, how does the Alcalde of Santa Cruz, Guatemala feel? As we told you in that story she was quite pleased with the effort.
That's because of the interesting dynamic between Santa Cruz and Jalacte. It is an example of living together in peace and respect important and Daniel Ortiz examined this relationship in the context of the climate surrounding the pending referendums:
Daniel Ortiz Reporting
Down in Jalacte Village, the Belizean citizens there have no access to electricity, and very spotty access to Belizean telecommunications.
Making a phone call to a Digicell number is very close to impossible and taking the Speednet route is easier, but that person must go searching for phone signals at different strategic locations in the village.
As a result, the residents simply sign on with the Guatemalan phone companies, after all, their towers are less than a mile away.
Their Guatemalan neighbors enjoy access to power lines which provide them with much needed electricity, while those on the Belize side must use generators, if they have the finance, or a rigging of car batteries to power their homes.

New Guat Foreign Minister Makes Surprise VisitAnd while the Alcalde has no problem with the volunteers, how does the Guatemalan Foreign minister feel about it? We'll have his reaction shortly, but, first, why was he here today in the first place?
As we told you at the top of the newscast, he made a hastily arranged three-hour trip to Belize City this afternoon, landing at 1:00 pm and leaving by four-thirty. The meeting was held at the Radisson and 7news caught him in the lobby as it was finished.
He told us about the purpose of his visit:
Fernando Carrera, Guatemala Foreign Minister
"We have conversation on two issues that we shared with the Minister and his colleagues and advisors what is known as the political situation of the referendum of Guatemala and the political climate. The second thing is since this is my first visit to ensure that we will continue to have the positive relationship we have had in the past and that we will work to strengthen that relationship."
Jules Vasquez
"How concern is your country about the threshold that Belize has on its referendum: the 60% threshold?"
Fernando Carrera, Guatemala Foreign Minister
"It has been a concern but as it is in politics we have understood that that is your role and that is the way you want to solve this situation the referendum. Although we have a concern that it is a very difficult threshold to reach for any country not just for Belize but for any country. We will have lots of problems in Guatemala to reach that threshold and maybe that's part of our concern because we haven't been able to do that in the past. But it's your decision and it's your rules, you legal framework."

Guat Foreign Minister Calls Maheia and His Crew "Extremists"And "provocative" is just what Wilfred Elrington said last week about Wil Maheia and his border clearing initiative. But when we asked the Guatemalan Foreign Minister about it, he seemed to be hardly concerned:
Jules Vasquez "The border adjoining our village of Jalacte your village of Santa Cruz to clear that border, is that something that concerns you?"
Fernando Carrera, Guatemala Foreign Minister
"Not really because at the end of the day both what you did here from this side of Belize and we did from the side of Guatemala was very positive. We all understood that this is not the way of solving our disputes. The only way of solving of disputes of civilized countries is have a conversation and go to a legal framework like the one provided by the ICJ. We are more reasonable people today than a few decades ago and we can contribute to a solution for a specific point of view."

Man Shot in Broad Daylight At Busy IntersectionAnd "provocative" is just what Wilfred Elrington said last week about Wil Maheia and his border clearing initiative. But when we asked the Guatemalan Foreign Minister about it, he seemed to be hardly concerned:
Jules Vasquez
"The border adjoining our village of Jalacte your village of Santa Cruz to clear that border, is that something that concerns you?"
Fernando Carrera, Guatemala Foreign Minister
"Not really because at the end of the day both what you did here from this side of Belize and we did from the side of Guatemala was very positive. We all understood that this is not the way of solving our disputes. The only way of solving of disputes of civilized countries is have a conversation and go to a legal framework like the one provided by the ICJ. We are more reasonable people today than a few decades ago and we can contribute to a solution for a specific point of view."
Jules Vasquez
"You issued very dire warnings about the Belize Territorial volunteers Mr. Maheia. You were wrong, A) nothing happened and B) the Foreign Minister said that it's something that hardly concerns them, as people, we learn to live together."

Death Stalked "Corrupt" On Caesar RidgeAnd while he looks as if he will make it, there was no such luck for two men who were shot and killed last night. The first shooting happened in Hattieville at around 8:30 and the second happened about an hour later in the city.
We start with the City murder, where Eugene Palacio, known as "Corrupt" was killed in his neighborhood - and as his aunt celebrated her birthday across the street:
Jules Vasquez Reporting
Voice of Cousin: Was at Party When Eugene Palacio Was Killed
"We just hear shots start to bursts. It was real crazy."
In that hail of gunfire at, 37 year old Eugene Palacio was shot across the street from his Aunt's home at 9:30 pm:
Voice of Cousin: Was at Party When Eugene Palacio Was Killed
"He and my other cousin were standing there talking. The gunman came from Gill Street side and walked straight up into him, he knew what he wanted to do because he and she was standing there because tried to use my cousin as a shield but my cousin is short. The gunman knew what he wanted to do because he popped him in his face then he went over him and gives him some more shots."

Did "Mini-Man" Slay Abel In Hattieville?And while right now, police don't know who killed Eugene Palacio, they suspect they do know who killed Abel ("Able") Arana. Arana was killed last night, reportedly in a shootout with and man he was reportedly socializing with, Ralph Sherlock Martinez, known as "mini-man". It happened in Hattieville and tonight Arana is dead and Mini-man is recovering from a gunshot wound. Today Monica Bodden went to Hattieville looking for answers:
Monica Bodden Reporting
23 year old Abel Arana was murdered last night inside this yard in Hattieville on Camal Street - meanwhile Ralph Sherlock Martinez better known as Mini-man, who resides at the residence, is tonight hospitalized.
The murder/shooting happened just after 8 o'clock last night. According to police, Arana and Martinez were socializing at the residence when an argument ensued between the men - Both men shots at each other.
But while that theory is under investigation, a friend of Martinez denies that version.
According to him, Martinez and Arana knew each other from prison but where never close associates to the point where they would be socializing together. He told us Abel Arana entered his friend's yard with the intention to kill him, but out of self-defense Martinez ended up using Arana's gun on him.

Man Died After Being Robbed and Beaten Up In GrigaAnd while those murders happened in the Belize District, there was a murder in Stann Creek. It happened form last week, but police only just reported it today.
Tonight, the family of 35 year-old Honduran National Julio Lopez Funez is making preparations to bury him after he was robbed and beaten last week Wednesday.
According to police, at around 1 p.m., Lopez, who is a resident of Dangriga Town, was walking on Tubroose Street after cashing his pay checque at the Belize Bank. He was approached by unknown culprits who beat him badly, leaving him unconscious.

Police Loses Life In Fatal AccidentTonight, one Police officer from the Gang Suppression Unit is dead, and 2 others are in the hospital after they were all in a traffic accident, which occurred last night.
At around 9:30, 22 year-old Hilbert Ack, 27 year-old George Ferguson, 28 year-old Bani Shol, were in a Toyota Camry heading to Belmopan. When they got to an area between miles 34 and 35, Shol, who was the driver, lost control, and that caused them to flip several times.
They all suffered bodily injuries of varying degree, but Shol's injuries were too severe. He passed away while the other 2 men made it to the Western Regional Hospital.
He is the second police officer to die in a traffic accident in the past eight days.

Serious City ShootingsWe've told you about the murders, but the violence in Belize City spiked once again this weekend.
At around 2:50 p.m. on Sunday a 37 year-old Naturalized Belizean businessman and his wife were exiting their Mitsubishi pickup, and they were attempting to get into their home on Sun Flower Street.
As soon as they got out of the vehicle, a dark complexioned gunman approached them and fired several shots from at them.
Fearing for his life, the businessman pulled out his licensed 9 mm pistol, and fired back at the assailant, who escaped into a nearby yard.

Fire In The CityThere was an early morning fire yesterday at the corner of West and Bishop Streets. Around 4 yesterday morning, 42 year old Charles Herrera was asleep inside his apartment located on the upper flat of the two story wooden building, when he was awakened by the sound of barking dogs.

Farrakhan's Message For BelizeLeader of the nation of Islam Louis Farrakhan arrived in Belize this afternoon for a five-day visit. A press briefing at the airport's VIP Room was planned but it was abruptly cancelled. Instead he granted only the Government Press Office an interview. He spoke on a range of issues, from trade to crime:
Minister Louis Farrakhan "I am here not just to speak to the Muslims but to the Christians, the Mayans to all of the members of this potentially powerful nation and my message all throughout the Caribbean is that one island can exist in a global economy by itself.

Belizean Ballers Stayed and Played In GuatemalaLast week we told you about the Belize National Basketball Team's hasty return from Guatemala after they were forced to withdraw from a tournament because the organizer's logo included Belize as a part of Guatemala.
But three Belizeans did stay behind and that's because they were contracted to play with the Peten team.
According to reports, Kirk Chengo Burgess, Winston "Air Jun" Pratt and Raul Roches all stayed and played in the offending jerseys.